Wednesday, July 22, 2009

For all of you art fans looking how to draw somewhat realistically, here is a clip of drawing a "manga" face. Me, I can't draw to save my life. Well, that's not exactly true; but I can't draw any type of serious figures; so this actually helped a bit. I know some of you out there can already draw, and draw quite well, but for those of us that can't, here's some helpful advice!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

There is an expression that goes, "if you wanna be the man, you gotta beat the man!" In my humble opinion, Jim Lee is the man. His artistic skills are excellent, as evidenced in the video of a drawing he does of the X-Man Gambit. He can do in 8 minutes what most people dream about doing in a lifetime. Hope you guys like it! To see more of Jim Lee's awesome artwork, go to his deviantART page here.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Variety is reporting that actor Ryan Reynolds (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) has landed the role of Green Lantern Hal Jordan in the Warner Bros. live-action film " Green Lantern ", based on the popular DC Comics series. Production is expected to begin in January 2010. Martin Campbell is scheduled to direct.

Futurama Cast Replaced?

Update: Bender and company could sound very different when the show returns.by Eric Goldman

July 17, 2009 - Is Futurama being recast? Several outlets, including EW.com, are reporting that apparently 20th Century Fox, who produce the series, are currently auditioning actors to take over all of the major roles on the series, replacing Billy West ("Fry", "Hubert J. Farnsworth", "Zoidberg"), Katey Sagal ("Leela"), John DiMaggio ("Bender"), Maurice LaMarche ("Kif Kroker"), and Tress MacNeille ("Mom").

IGN TV contacted 20th Century Fox and were told, "We love the Futurama voice performers and absolutely wanted to use them, but unfortunately, we could not meet their salary demands. While replacing these talented actors will be difficult, the show must go on. We are confident that we will find terrific new performers to give voice to Matt [Groening] and David [X. Cohen]'s brilliantly subversive characters."

With the show being brought back, certainly it wouldn't be surprising if the voice actors asked for raises – and considering Futurama is now being produced for Comedy Central, not FOX, it's also possible those salary requests were too high for 20th Century Fox and Comedy Central to justify, since cable series typically operate at lower budgets than network series.

However, there are some interesting things to consider here. Several weeks ago, the details of the Futurama panel at Comic-Con were revealed, and they read:

"Futurama: Life or Death?! BE A PART OF SCI-FI HISTORY! Join Executive Producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, and stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche for high-stakes thrills as a top-ranking Fox executive decides live, on stage, whether Futurama will make yet another triumphant return, or whether it is gone forever! The very fate of Futurama hangs in the balance! Paramedics will be standing by in case the intense excitement causes any panelists to collapse. Raucous celebration or abject despair to follow the news."

Obviously, the whole "life or death" thing is a joke, since the show has officially been brought back. And then there's the fact that three of the cast members said to be among those being replaced are scheduled to be on the panel. Certainly, salary negotiations could have fallen apart since the panel was first set up, but it makes you wonder… One thing's for certain, it will make the Futurama Comic-Con panel even more of a big deal. If the original cast is there, and this is an elaborate hoax, then fans will no doubt be very relieved. If they're not there, and they are indeed being recast, then it's not hard to imagine plenty of not-so-happy fan questions on the subject, to say the least.

Update: Variety is now chiming in on theFuturama situation, and it looks like this is indeed the real deal, as in not any sort of hoax. Variety confirms that the show has a dramatically slashed budget, and that the salary offers made to the cast were far below what they were asking – which Variety says was likely around $75,000 an episode. The budget cuts (compared to what the show had when it originally was produced) have also led to a smaller writing staff and a shorter schedule to produce episodes.

If there's any hope for fans, it's the fact that a casting call for new voice actors doesn't necessarily mean that a deal still can't be made. In fact, Variety points out that when negotiations were going badly for new deals with The Simpsons cast several years ago, similar casting inquiries were made for new actors – and obviously, in that case, the original cast did eventually come to terms on a new deal. Let's all cross our fingers that history repeats itself here...

FAMILY GUY GETS EMMY NOD

With the comedy series category expanded to seven series, there was a couple of other notable new editions, starting with Family Guy. The past two years, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane had made a major push to get his show in the comedy category as opposed to the animated category, and it paid off this time – making Family Guy the first animated series since The Flintstones to make it into this category.

GEOFF JOHNS TO PRODUCE/CO-WRITE “FLASH”by CBR News Team, Editor

In what will certainly be welcome news to comic readers, The Hollywood Reporter has published a lengthy piece on the state of DC Comics properties in TV and Film, including word that “Flash: Rebirth” and “Green Lantern” writer Geoff Johns is on board as a producer for an upcoming “Flash” feature film.

According to THR, Warners hired Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison and Marv Wolfman this last fall to act as consultants and writers for its superhero line of films. While details of Morrison and Wolfman’s projects weren’t revealed, it was noted that Johns has worked up a new treatment for a “Flash” film, being written by Dan Mazeau. Johns will act in a producer capacity on “Flash,” which does not yet have a director.

In addition to the “Flash” news, THR said Warner Bros. is taking pitches on films spotlighting Adam Strange as well as Aquaman, which would be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way shingle.

There’s also "Bizarro Superman," written by "Galaxy Quest" writers David Howard and Robert Gordon; a sequel to "Constantine"; two Green Arrow projects, one an origin story and the other the previously announced "Super Max"; and also "Shazam" with Pete Segal attached to direct.

This is on top of already in production films like “The Losers,” “Jonah Hex” and “Green Lantern,” plus the television series adaptation of “Human Target.”

This weeks edition of Music Video Monday brings you a band that was uber popular in the 1990s. Although still around today, they aren't as popular, but just as good musically. The band is the Counting Crows. Formed in 1991 by Adam Duritz and Dave Bryson formed Counting Crows in San Francisco in 1991. They reached the big time in 1994, after their release of "August and Everything After". The song chosen is actually off of their sophomore album "Recovering the Satellites". The name of the song is Angels of the Silences. Enjoy!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The next song is an oldie, but a goodie. Many people may not have heard the original version of the song, but heard the cover version by the popular band, Pearl Jam. The song that I am refering to is called "Last Kiss". Pearl Jam's version is one of my all time favorite songs.

A couple of intersesting notes about the song:

1. It was originally written by Wayne Cochran who was inspired to write "Last Kiss" after having lived near a dangerous highway where several accidents had occurred yearly. Cochran began writing the song in 1956. He came up with the song's chord progression, first verse, and chorus, although five years would pass before Cochran finished the song.

2. Cochran based the rest of "Last Kiss" on an incident in which several teens were killed and two seriously injured when their car struck a flatbed logging truck. Sixteen-year-old Jeanette Clark was out on a date in Barnesville, Georgia on December 22, 1962, the Saturday before Christmas. She was with a group of friends in a 1954 Chevrolet. J. L. Hancock, also sixteen, was driving the car in heavy traffic and while traveling on Highway 341, collided with a trailer truck. Clark, Hancock, and another teenager were killed, and two other teens in the car were seriously injured. Cochran finished the song, which he titled "Last Kiss", and dedicated it to Clark.

The idea to cover "Last Kiss" came about after vocalist Eddie Vedder found an old record of the song at the Fremont Antique Mall in Seattle, Washington.[7] He convinced the rest of the band to try out the song and it was performed a few times on the band's 1998 tour. The band eventually and released it as a 1998 fan club Christmas single.

When Pearl Jam covered the song, it became, arguably, the band's biggest hit. Originally recorded at a soundcheck at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. and released as a 1998 fan club Christmas single, their version would end up reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100. This remains Pearl Jam's highest position on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number four on the Top 40 Mainstream. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The "Last Kiss" single has been certified gold by the RIAA.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

One day, when I was trollin the internet looking for some cool art, I came across this particular piece of art. At first, I did a double take. Then thinking about it, I laughed out loud! Imagine if someone really did develop a fighting video game based on the characters to fast food chains. That would be awesome!!!! Hahaha! I'm the BK King! It's good to be the King!! LOL!

The art is done by an artist named Lysol Jones. If I ever come across his Deviant Art page, I will post a link to it.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The next Take 2 in the series is a fmaous Beatles song. The first version is the original; the video has a pretty cool intro into the song. The second version is about 180 degrees the other way of the style, tempo, and even vocals for the song. I like both versions alot, so I can't tell which one is better.

Monday, July 13, 2009

This weeks Music Video Monday is from a band that was formed in 1991 by vocalist/songwriter John McCrea, guitarist Greg Brown, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, bassist Shon Meckfessel and drummer Frank French. Shon Meckfessel soon left and was replaced by Gabe Nelson. That band is the indie rock band CAKE (yes, all caps on purpose). They are still around today, although I believe the original lineup has changed.

"Never There" is the first single from Cake's third album Prolonging the Magic. It is often considered the most successful Cake song.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

I gotta say, I'm really glad I thought of this one. Growing up, I really, really didn't like Aha's version, but then I came across the Reel Big Fish's version of this song & I lovbe it! It's fun, upbeat, just a really good cover of this song!**Sorry about the poor quality of the original, it was the only one that I found that let me embed**Aha

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

I don't think I've posted this before, but this is a clip of the chase scene from "Dukes of Hazzard", the movie made in 2005, based on the TV show. While the movie itself was bad, no, horrible; it did have some good moments. One of them was this chase scene. The writing is horrible, but its pretty cool to see the General Lee in all out action! Piece of Advice: click HQ, and turn of annotations! Enjoy!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Next up in the list is Katy Perry's newest single "Waking Up in Vegas". It's pop, yet it's a little rock. At first I didn't like it, but it eventually grew on me. The video goes well with the song. Enjoy!

Friday, July 3, 2009

I saved possibly the best for last!I always loved the theme from Speed Racer; I wasn't too impressed with the movie, but overall, it was okay.Sponge does an awesome version of Speed Racer, ready to take you out of the week and into the weekend! VROOM VROOM!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

We are at the halfway point here (unless you count Sat & Sun), so moving right along, we have the Butthole Surfers version of "Underdog".The band is good, the song is good, the lead singer is kinda creepy.Oh well, two outta three ain't bad...